There's A First Time For Everything
by milify-star
Summary: Samantha Stratton is sent to Camp Green Lake under false charges but tries to stay optimistic as she pushes through her sentence. Will she find true love? Will she be found innocent once and for all? Read this story of her adventures to find out! 8D
1. The Back Story

The D tent boys saw the familiar yellow bus creating a long cloud of dust as it headed towards camp. They knew what this meant: a new guy.

I, Samantha Stratton, am as innocent as a new born child. Yet, I ended up with a sentence of 24 months at Camp Green Lake, detention center for boys. It all started on February 14th, Valentine's Day in the parking lot of the local mall.

"Ok baby, I know that we've only been dating for a two months but I wanted to get you something special. Close your eyes." My boyfriend Dylan told me with a warm smile on his face. I was giddy at the fact that someone was getting me something special. All my life, my mom and dad had always treated me like I was decoration. I was just something pretty that completed their perfect little puzzle. It was nice to see that someone actually cared. I closed my eyes and felt Dylan pick up my hand and slid something on my right ring finger.

"Oh my goodness!" I gasped when I opened my eyes and saw the most gorgeous diamond ring I have ever seen.

Mistake #1: I was thinking more about the looks of my gift than where a local high school student got the money.

Suddenly the mall's alarm went off, breaking me out of my admiration. Dylan suddenly tensed up and started to back out. I shrugged it off and let him take us out.

Mistake #2: When your boyfriend gives you an expensive ring then hits the ground running when the alarm goes off; put two and two together unlike what I did just then.

Before we could go any further, a security guard stopped us at the exit and made Dylan roll down his window.

"Where do you think you're going son?" He asked sternly as Dylan came to a stop. "Do you know anything about a jewelry theft?" Dylan shook his head.

"No sir." Dylan was a complete suck up when it came to the law, probably because his dad was a judge. Meanwhile, my eyes widened as I finally put two and two together. I stared down at my ring, my stolen ring.

"I think you do." I looked up and saw the cop had followed my gaze. Then something unbelievable and life changing happened.

"Samantha? I thought you said you bought that ring! You lied to me!" If I hadn't known any better, I probably would have believed that I actually did steal the ring from the genuine look on Dylan's face.

"Step out the car Miss." The officer ordered me. I followed suit and let myself get the rights read to me. Then he hand cuffed me and put me in the back of the car but not before taking the once beautiful but now disgusting ring off my finger.

Mistake #3: I dated a lying jackass.


	2. Arriving

I had been on this clanky yellow bus for a couple of hours I think. After the third hour I lost track. I was sitting in the first seat and talked to Wilson, the guard.

"So do you always do this? Take kids to juvie?" I asked. He nodded.

"Pretty much, at home all I do is petty stuff so this is a little better."

"How's the pay?"

"Good enough." He shrugged. I nodded. I didn't really care about his job but I didn't want to sit in silence the whole time. I had been told him what I did to get there, what I wanted to major in college, the color of my former prom dress, my job, and my uncle's farm. It was a long bus ride.

"We're going to be there in about five minutes. Look outside. See all the holes? You're going to be digging." He pointed out the window and I looked outside like he said. It looked as if someone took a humongous drill and went to town on the once untouched desert. My shock was about one on a scale from one to ten. My mom searched about Camp Green Lake through and through. She told me to choose Camp because she actually believed digging holes builds character. I wouldn't have to choose at all if Dylan's dad wasn't the judge of my case and if Dylan hadn't tried to put me away to keep me from telling on him.

"We're here Sam." The officer announced as we slowed to a stop. I grabbed my black and green duffel bag and Wilson grabbed my small suitcase as we climbed off the bus. It was a drastic change in heat as I emerged into the dry, hot air. I took a good look around and saw that the desert stretched as far as the eye could see and more.

"Hey guys look! It's the new kid!" Someone yelled from the groups of boys who were lounging around.

"Hey! It's a girl!" Someone else yelled. I rolled my eyes and took my shades off of my long brown hair that stopped a couple of inches below my shoulders and put them over my brown eyes.

"Shouldn't they be digging holes are something?" I muttered as I dusted off my blush colored skirt that flowed down to my knees and my cherry red top. Then I stretched out my legs that were covered by brown cowgirl boots.

"These boys haven't seen a girl since they got here. Watch your back." He warned me. I sighed.

"Why? It's not my back their trying to get to." I gave him a knowing look and Wilson shook his head.

"Come on girly." He took my duffel bag from me and led me to a cabin-like office. It was cool and air conditioned unlike the oven outside. I walked in and took a seat in one of the chairs facing a desk where a man with beady eyes and a hideous flamingo colored shirt on. He looked mean and merciless but also a little crazy.

"Samantha Stratton," He said as he looked up from my file and chomped on sunflower seeds. "I am Mr. Sir." He hesitated like he was waiting for me to do something before he continued.

"You will call me by my name when you address me. Clear?" He seemed to want to threaten me. Who was I to disappoint? I nodded.

"Crystal … Mr. Sir." I added the ending quickly like I was too scared to face the consequences. He smirked and got up.

"Follow me." I did as I was told and followed him. We walked outside and into the middle section between the two rows of buildings and tents.

"Samantha, look around, what do you see? Any fences? Guards? Nope, just pure desert, if you want to run away go ahead. I won't stop you." He stepped back and gave me room for emphasis. I sighed.

"Mr. Sir, do you honestly believe that I would run off? Looking around I see all these boys and they don't seem to be ready to run. I'm guessing there's no place to run. Plus, there isn't any place for water for a hundred miles at least and with all the buzzards, rattlesnakes, and scorpions, you wouldn't survive anyways. Now, stop interrogating me and get me settled." I gave a smug smiled before Mr. Sir grumbled and led me to a small building filled with boots and hideous orange work suits.

"You get two sets of clothes, one for digging and one for relaxation." He handed me two suits and a pair of boots. "Wash is every three days. After that, your relaxation clothes are your work clothes. Here's your canteen." I nodded in understanding and then Mr. Sir stopped talking and waited. I glanced at the boy who was labeled "Lump" and back at Mr. Sir.

"If you're expecting me to change in front of you two gentlemen then you've lost your minds." Lump looked a little disappointed and Mr. Sir thought for a second.

"You can change later."

"Great idea." I nodded.

"Samantha Stratton!" I jumped at the sound of a perky voice. I turned and saw a short man with sun block on his nose.

"Samantha, you may have made some bad decisions and you may have done some bad things but that does not make you a bad person. I respect you Samantha." I smiled at him. I love positive people. "I'm Dr. Pendanski, the guidance counselor." I shook his outstretched hand and Mr. Sir groaned and left.

"So I'm staying in a tent with a bunch of boys?" I wanted to clarify. Mr. Pendanski nodded and started to lead me out to the tent.

"Yes ma'am you are. But don't worry; these boys are the nicest around. You'll be staying in D-tent. D stands for diligence." Sure it does. We walked into the tent and saw six boys lying around just hanging out.

"Boys, this is Samantha Stratton, she'll be staying in your tent for the time being. Samantha, this is Rex, Alan, Ricky, Theodore, Jose and Zero." I was a little confused why anyone would name their child Zero but I didn't want to be rude and make fun of him so I just smiled.

"Hey." I greeted quietly. Dr. Pendanski left and the black boy by the name of Rex spoke up.

"Those aren't our names. I'm X-ray, that's squid, Zigzag, Armpit, Magnet, and Zero."

"Okay. Well I'm Sam. Which cot is mine?" X-Ray pointed to a cot between Squid and Zero. "Thanks."

Lump came in and dropped off my suitcase and I put all my stuff on the sad excuse for a bed.

"So what did you do to get here?" Magnet asked me. "You're the first girl we've had, must have been pretty bad." I thought for a split second then shook my head.

"I-I don't really want to talk about it." They nodded and most of them announced they were going to the break room. It was just Zero and I after everyone else left. I looked over at Zero and he had his eyes closed and his hands behind his head as he faced the ceiling. I could tell he wasn't sleeping though.

"So, Zero huh?" He didn't say anything but I just kept talking. The quiet ones are good listeners. "I bet you want to know why I'm here. Well I'll tell you but I trust you with this secret alright?" Again he didn't acknowledge me so I took that as a yes. "Well, it all started on Valentine's Day…" I told him the whole story without him saying a word. When I was finished I was well situated with sheets on my bed and my luggage underneath. I plopped down on my freshly made, purple sheeted bed with a sigh.

"Thanks for listening buddy."

"No problem." He actually responded. It was quiet and barely audible but it was a response through and through. Since he was responding, I had to ask one true question.

"I have a real question for you." Zero turned his head slowly and looked at me. "Your names not really Zero is it?" He shook his head. "Oh thank God. I was hoping it wasn't. What is your real name?"

"Hector." I nodded.

"That's a good name. Good strong name." He smirked at me and faced the ceiling again. "So, how'd you get the name Zero?"

"I haven't talked to anyone since I got here so they assume I'm stupid. I just don't like answering stupid questions."

"They're a clever lot aren't they?" I rolled my eyes at the origin of the nickname. "Do you like your nickname?" I wondered. Zero shrugged.

"Everyone calls me that."

"So? Pretending to like something is worse than hating something altogether. What do you want to be called?" I didn't want to call him something else. He thought for a second.

"You should just call me Zero." He recommended. I smiled politely.

"Okay, if that's what you want." We let things come back to a comfortable silence until Mr. Pendanski came in.

"Ah, Samantha, I thought I'd find you here. The warden would like to see you." I looked at Zero who had a bit of fear in his eyes for me.

"All right." I nervously got up and followed him out of the tent with one last look at Zero.


	3. Dancing

Dr. Pendanski knocked on the door of the wooden building that belonged to the warden. When the door opened I was standing face to face with a fiery red head with hair down to her elbows and a permanent fierceness to her stare. Yet, she was still very pretty.

"Are you Samantha?" She asked me with an underlying attitude that she probably always had.

"Yes ma'am." I flashed a smile. The warden smiled at my positive attitude and stepped aside, letting me inside of her sanctuary. Once I walked inside I could feel the cool blowing against my face. The whole cabin looked like it didn't belong here. It was as if God almighty himself picked this place up from somewhere in the suburbs and dropped it off here.

"Now Samantha," The warden interrupted my observations with a kind yet authority ridden voice. "I understand what you did was wrong but you are still by all means a lady and young ladies like you need privacy. When you come in from digging I want you to come here for your shower and what not and if you have any… lady problems just come to me." I could see a genuine need to take care of me in her eyes.

I told her I understood and walked back out of her cabin. I decided that I should probably change before my good clothes get ruined with dirt. I walked back into D-tent and it was empty, thank goodness, so I hurried over to my suitcase and pulled off my skirt, shirt, and boots. Then I pulled out a blue sleeveless undershirt and one of my two orange suits for R&R. After putting my hair in a bun and tying the arms of the suit around my waist like I'd seen some guys do, I decided to head to the wreck room. The only things in there were a broken T.V., a couch that looked like it belonged to an old woman, a surprisingly working radio, a pool table, a weight lifting bench, and a bunch of chairs and tables. The thing I liked most was the shade though, the shade was nice.

"Hey Sam!" I followed the sound of my name being called and saw my tent mates over by the pool table. I walked over and stood and watched the game between X-ray and Magnet.

"So what have you been up to?" Squid asked from next to me.

"Just unpacking and stuff." I looked into his eyes and he smiled a little, lighting up his gorgeous features. I blushed and looked away. I don't know why but I did. I admit that Squid's attractive but I don't need another Dylan. A whistle from outside made me jump as everyone started to head out. I followed the D-tent boys over to the mess hall since I didn't know what to do. When I walked in, the conversation quieted and all eyes were on me.

"Just come on." Squid whispered to me as he glared at the rest of the camp members and guided me gently into line. Conversation got back to normal. I got a tray and held it out so I could be served. The boy serving smirked as he plopped down a ladle full of… something onto my plate. I didn't say anything; I just got the food and came out of line. I looked around for an empty seat when Magnet came up next to me.

"You'll be sitting with us chica, D-tent sticks together." I smiled at their motto and followed Magnet to the table where I sat between Hector and Squid.

"Hey." Zero whispered so only I could hear him.

"Hey." I whispered back and looked down at my tray. There were two pieces of bread, a cup of water, and two mysterious piles of 'food' that looked like beans and, potatoes?

"You'll get used to it." Squid informed me when he saw me staring at the food.

"I don't think I want to." He chuckled and got back into the conversation the boys were having about when they were going to get some real food. I picked up my fork and slowly ran it through the beans. It uncovered a good amount of grease. I gagged and picked up the bread. It was slightly on the stale side but it was still better than grease. Hector finished his 'food' and silently left so I finished the bread and chugged my water down so he wouldn't be alone. I stood up and made my way to the area where you put your trays when a guy called out to me.

"Hey baby, how about you come and keep me company." I gave him a slight glance but otherwise kept walking.

"No thanks." I put my tray on the pile when the guy came behind me and put his hand on my lower back.

"You sure sweetheart?" He had greasy looking black hair and bland, dirt brown eyes. His hand slowly moved down until he reached my butt and squeezed it. My next move was pure reflex. My arm pulled back and swung forward. My fist connected with his jaw and he fell back into a trash can.

"Don't ever put your filthy hands on me ever again." And with that I walked out of the Mess Hall fully aware that everyone was staring at me.

Zero was lying on his cot when I entered the tent.

"Guys are such pigs sometimes!" I plopped down on my cot and looked at my hand.

"What happened?" Zero asked, also looking at my bruising fingers.

"Some guy thought it was okay to grope my backside." Hector sat up a little.

"Did he hurt you?" His voice went to all seriousness. I shook my head.

"No, thankfully he didn't." His eyes searched my face to see if I was lying then lay back again when he was satisfied with my truthfulness. A yawn escaped my mouth and I started to feel a little tired.

"Zero? Can you, like, turn around or something? I need to change." He nodded and turned around. I took off my jumpsuit and slid on my black shorts while leaving my undershirt on.

"Okay, I'm done." He turned back over and I lay back on my bed. I sat for about five minutes before getting bored and pulling out my IPod. I pulled my bright green and white old school headphones on and put my music on shuffle.

"You don't know how you met me  
You don't know why, you can't turn around and say good-bye  
all you know is when I'm with you I make you free  
And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea  
I'm singing...

Follow me  
Everything is alright  
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night  
And if you want to leave  
I can guarantee  
You won't find nobody else like me." I looked at Zero and he was nodding his head to the music so I got up and started dancing. I was singing and dancing and Zero was laughing and I immediately knew we were having too much fun at this juvie camp.

"Ahem!" I looked at the tent opening and saw all the guys filing in and giving me smug looks. I stopped and pulled my headphones down around my neck.

"No chica, don't stop. You got real talent." Magnet came over and grabbed my hands and started dancing with me. Soon enough we were all dancing (save for Zero who felt he had the reputation of being stoic to protect). When Dr. Pendanski came in, he saw us and smirked before telling us it was lights out.

I laughed a little and turned off my IPod. When lights went out we all snuggled under our scratchy blankets and began to surrender to sleep.

"Hey Sam?" I leaned up on my elbows and called out in the darkness.

"Yes?" It was X-ray who had called me.

"Thanks, that was the best fun we've had in a while."

"No problem." We both positioned or selves on our cots again and fell asleep.


	4. First Day

I was woken up at 4:30am the next morning by that horrible horn you hear in movies like "The Parent Trap" and "Friday the 13th". I swung my legs over the bed and sat up before greeting the new day with a yawn. I looked around and saw all the guys getting up. Now, I'm not a morning person per say but when I'm up I'm up and there's no turning back. I put my work suit on over some black shorts and a pink undershirt. I grabbed my toothbrush and comb before heading towards the bathroom. I was halfway there when I heard someone call my name.

"Hey Sam!" I turned around and saw X-Ray running up to me. I stopped and let him catch up.

"Yes?" He slowed into a walk as we continued to the bathroom area.

"You're not going to eat breakfast?" He looked at my toothbrush in confusion. I shook my head.

"I'm not much of a breakfast eater." He shrugged.

"Okay but you're going to need it." He walked along with me still and watched my back as I brushed my teeth and what not. I was still getting looks from everyone, which was understandable. I was the first and only girl to be seen for miles in a long time. When breakfast was over, we all started the day by getting our shovels from the "Library".

"Good Morning! Jose, open your eyes please." Mr. Pendanski said as we each got our shovels.

"Whatever Mom." Magnet said and snatched his shovel with one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other. When I got to the front I grabbed my shovel and gave Mr. Pendanski a curious look.

"Mom?" I asked about the unfitting name. He nodded.

"They have a little nickname for me too. Now you better run along." I took my shovel and started walking to catch up with the others. X-Ray came up behind me and scared me half to death.

"Sorry Sam but that's my shovel." He gently took it from my hands and gave me his.

"O- okay." He grinned and kept walking. Squid came along side me and filled me in.

"That shovel is shorter than all the rest. Shorter shovel, smaller hole. X- Ray has been here the longest, he deserves a break." I nodded in understanding as we continued our journey to the work site.

-~*Holes*~-

"You'll dig here." Mr. Sir marked an untouched spot with his heel.

"You're hole needs to be 5 by 5, you're shovel is your measuring stick." And with that he headed off to camp while I got to work.

By the time the water truck came I was hot and sweaty. I got out of my three foot hole and into line at the end.

"Man! You're doing good for your first day Sam!" Armpit said from his spot in line. I smirked slightly and kept walking in the moving line. I felt a small sense of pride.

"Thank you." As I got to the front of the line, Mr. Sir got my canteen and peered at my hands then filled the canteen.

"You're one of the lucky ones I guess." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and got my lunch before walking back to my hole. I sat on the edge with my legs dangling into the three foot hole. Suddenly someone plopped down beside me, almost giving me a heart attack.

"Oh, hi Squid." His brown hair was messy from all the work and he was sweating.

"Hey. How's your hands?" I turned my hand over to show him my palm and he quickly grabbed it and rubbed it with his thumb.

"What? Hey guys look at this!" Everyone came over and looked down at my hands.

"No blisters." There was a few anonymous 'what's in the bunch as I looked at their questioning faces. Magnet asked the question that they were all silently asking themselves.

"Where's the blisters chica?" I shrugged.

"I guess it was when I worked on my Uncle's ranch that my hands learned to tolerate rough work. It doesn't bother me anymore. He's getting old so he needs some help." Squid smiled.

"So you're a farm girl?" The guys chuckled a bit and went back to their holes except for Squid who finished his lunch by me.

"I'm not exactly a farm girl you know. I live in the suburbs but between me and my family, I'm the only one who really wants to help. Plus, it's fun." Squid shook his head at me.

"How'd you get here?" He asked as I bit down into poorly made ham and cheese sandwich in my hand. "You're too nice." I smiled a little and swallowed before responding.

"I don't know. You've probably heard this from every guy in this place but I really am truly innocent."

"I believe that." Squid snorted.

"You're the first person who has said that to me so far." I smiled.

"So what happened?" I got angry just thinking about it.

"Not now. I might tell you later." He seemed a smidge hurt but nodded.

"Alright. We need to get back to work anyway." We got rid of our trash and started digging.

-~*Holes*~-

"Help!" I was having trouble getting out of my five foot hole.

"Hold on chica." Magnet came over and reached down to grab my hand.

"Thank you." I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up.

"I was just about to walk back to camp; you want to walk with me?" I looked around and saw that Squid was the only one still digging.

"No thank you." Magnet looked over at Squid and back at me.

"Oh, I get it." I blushed because I knew what he was thinking.

"It's not really like that." Magnet shook his head but still smiled.

"Sure it isn't." Before I could protest, Magnet made his way back to camp. I sighed and hoped he wouldn't go around saying anything. That's the last thing I need. I went over to Squid's hole and plopped down by the edge.

"What are doing? You're finished with your hole; you can go back to camp." Squid informed me as if I didn't know.

"I know that. I just thought you'd want some company." Squid looked at me with sparkling eyes and shrugged.

"Alright." We talked the whole time he dug. I eventually did tell him why I came here. He looked sort of pissed but there was nothing we could do about it.

"Done?" I asked him when I noticed the dirt had stopped flying.

"Yeah." He jumped out of his whole with ease. Show off. Surprisingly, he held his hand out to help me up.

"Thank you Mr. Alan." Squid shook his head at the use of his real name but didn't scold me about it.

"You're welcome Miss. Samantha." I laughed and we made our way back to camp.

I knocked on Mrs. Walker's door and stepped back. After a minute or two she opened the door like she would rip apart whoever was disturbing her but then saw it was me and calmed down.

"Come in." I walked into her fully furnished living room and she shut the door.

"The bathroom is the first door on your right. There are towels in there and I'll have someone retrieve your R&R suit and one of your shirts." I was taken aback because of how organized she had all this but otherwise listened to her.

"Thank you." She nodded again and went back to sitting on her couch watching a show about a couple fighting then making up and so on. I headed back to the bathroom and surprisingly, it was all pink. I didn't expect the warden to be so… girly. I took of my suit and pants and what not then turned the shower on to the warm setting. I stepped in and sighed. It felt amazing. I washed my body and my hair especially. When I got out I wrapped in a pink fuzzy towel and found some clothes outside the door. It was a pair of gray shorts, a green tank top, and of course, my orange jumpsuit. As I walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, I saw posters and pictures of things from the old west. Some were newspapers with headlines about Kissin' Kate Barlow and some were about a burned down school house.

"Fascinating isn't it?" I jumped out of my skin when the Worden came up behind me. I nodded my head in agreement though.

"Yes ma'am." She motioned for me to sit down in a comfy armchair.

"My granddaddy owned half the whole town way back when. That included the lake too." She told the story in a voice that seemed as if she was reminiscing. I heard the dinner bell from outside and stood up.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." She waved me off with her hand but didn't say anything; she was clearly still in thought. I took that as my cue to leave.

The rest of the night was just like yesterday. Dinner, time for pool, then bed.

I wonder if every day would be just like the previous one. If it was, this was going to be a long stay at juvie. I got up in the middle of the night with that thought. I looked around and saw everyone was sleeping. Slowly, I pulled on my tennis shoes and walked out to the water spit. Realizing I didn't have my jug, I just sat on the side of our tent with my back against it while closing my eyes.

"You're buzzard food out here by yourself." A familiar voice came from above me. I looked up and saw Squid moving to sit in front of me.

"Oh, well, I wasn't thinking about that until you brought it up." I suddenly started examining my surroundings.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" He asked me curiously.

"I could ask you the same question and I will, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" I asked him. He chuckled.

"You woke me up. You aren't that quiet." He started picking at the few shrubs that were still holding onto life in the hot climate. "What about you?"

"I was thinking and if I think too much, I can't go to sleep." I shrugged. I had been that way since I was five.

"What were you thinking about?" He continued with the questions.

"I was hoping it would rain and we wouldn't have to dig holes anymore." I confessed one of my thoughts. He snorted at the mere idea of salvation.

"Yeah and maybe my mom will stop drinking and my dad will come home."

"What is that?" I wondered out loud.

"What's what?" He looked up from the ground.

"What is that whole, 'my mom won't stop drinking,'?"

"It's nothing." He shook his head.

"No, you brought it up. Why won't your mom stop drinking?" I mean, I had heard him say that line millions of times like it was nothing, maybe I'm the first one to question it.

"Because my dad won't come home." He referred to the second half of the saying.

"Why not?" I don't know why I thought he would know such an answer but he just shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe he found something better. I think he was tired off his life with us. You know, when you have something for such a long time and then suddenly you want a change. It didn't help that he took a lot of 'business trips'." He used quotes around business trips. "I'm not worried about him. He's a liar. I'm worried about my Ma because the doc already told her she's destroying her liver." I watched as he continued to pick at the grass. I didn't know what to say. I hadn't expected him to tell me everything and now that he did, I didn't want to just say "I'm sorry" or something wimpy like that.

"Well, my mom's destroying her liver but she doesn't really have an excuse." I laughed softly. "I have no idea why I just said that. It's not really appropriate." He chuckled.

"It's alright. So, your mom drinks too huh?"

"Yeah, big time. See, my family is like those country club people who don't really have their lives together and are visibly insane but have the money to fit in like everyone else. If my mom isn't holding a wine glass filled to the brim, she's asking for one. If my dad isn't playing golf, he's talking about money in some way with someone. I just sort of exist at my house, you know?" I shrugged. I tried not to really attach feelings to that part of my life.

"That sounds like it sucks."

"That's because it does." We chuckled. "I guess we're sort of similar huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so, except you've got a lot more,"

"Money?" I finished for him.

"I was going to say 'a lot more to offer' but money works too." He corrected me, making me blush.

"I'm sure you have as much to offer as I do." I insisted. Everyone has something to contribute to society right?

"Well Judge Harold thinks otherwise." He muttered. My eyes shot up at him.

"What did you just say?"

"Judge Harold thinks otherwise?" He was confused by my sudden interest in his local justice system no doubt. But the thing was, I knew this judge. He was one of my parent's friends.

"Where do live?"

"Tyler, Texas." He told me. My eyes widened.

"Are you kidding?" I asked. He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.

"No, why would I?"

"Alan," I used his serious name, "That's where I live." I said excitedly. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" I nodded and explained where I went to school and hung out. We went to different schools but essentially knew exactly what each other was talking about otherwise.

"We really do have a lot in common." I mused. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah."


	5. Happy Birthday!

The boys and I had gotten pretty close over the next couple of weeks. We were really like family. I really got close to Squid, or Alan sometimes, The only problems were that:

We're in juvie

Every day is the same… always

We woke up again at 4:30 A.M. I didn't eat breakfast, we got our shovels, we went to the dig site, and we dug 5x5. Then we came back, relaxed, had 'dinner', relaxed or had a group session, and then went to bed. The same thing happened every day for the month I've been here.

Today I was sitting in the break room after dinner with a pretty glum look on my face. I was sitting in front of the T.V in between Zig and Squid.

"What's up baby girl?" Squid asked me. I shrugged.

"Nothing." I didn't mind it when Squid called me pet names and what not; it was just when other people did it that I didn't approve of. I still had a crush on Squid but only Magnet really knew it.

"There's something wrong. You're not your usual free spirit." He noticed. I sighed.

"Can we walk?" Squid nodded and we left the break room and went into the night.

"My birthday is in two days and I was just wondering if it's going to be boring which it probably is." Squid put his arm around me and started to steer me towards the tent.

"I'll help make your birthday extra special. How old are you going to be?"

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that asking a woman's age is polite?" I scoffed playfully and slid from under his arm. He laughed along with me as we entered the tent. Nobody was there but us.

"So, what do you want for your birthday Sammy?" I sat on my bed and Squid sat next to me. I shrugged but kept thinking.

"Nothing much, just a day that isn't like every other day." My parents usually got me a gift that their secretaries probably picked out and a cake that they also probably didn't pick out. Everything they did was pretty halfhearted.

"Squid?" He looked over at me.

"Yeah?"

"Just, don't do anything if you don't want to. If you're really not into doing this kind of stuff, don't worry about it."

"Alright." He nodded. I realized how close our faces were. His eyes flickered down to my lips and back to my eyes before he leaned in. I eagerly met him half way. For someone who was in the sun all day, his lips were pretty soft. One of his hands cupped my face and the other rested on my hip as my hands supported me as I leaned closer. We leaned back and I swallowed, trying to catch my breath. After a minute I looked at him.

"Can we do that again?" I desperately wanted to. He chuckled and leaned in.

"Aw, I knew it." I jumped away from him at the sound of Armpit's voice. He looked at us knowingly as he went to his bed and got a pen and some paper. "Now, I'm not going to tell anyone about this, but we all knew it." He walked back out. I was still looking after him in shock when Squid turned my face back to his and kissed me again.

To hell with it.

~ILOVECUPCAKES~

"Happy Birthday Samantha Stratton!" I was jumped on and straddled by a very… bubbly Zig Zag. My eyes shot open as the air disappeared from my lungs.

"Zig… I can't…" Zig immediately got the message and hurriedly got off me.

"Sorry 'bout that." I nodded OK and swung my legs over the bed. I suddenly looked around and noticed I didn't have to worry about peeping toms; no one was in the tent. Zig managed to escape without me noticing. I walked outside and was immediately ambushed from behind by hands that went over my eyes. I opened my mouth to scream when a familiar voice stopped me.

"Don't you dare!"

"Squid? Squid! What are you doing?" I felt myself being gently pushed forward.

"Just wait and see." I stumbled my way to our destination. When I opened my eyes I saw that we were in the Mess Hall.

"Okay…?" I looked at Squid but he directed my face to our usual table. There, waiting for me, was a stack of pancakes. My face lit up.  
"Your special cake is ready Madame." I giggled and sat down at the table. Armpit took one of Squid's unopened toothpicks and stuck it in the top pancake and lit it with a match. I was going to ask where they got them from but I didn't bother.

"X and I got up to make them this morning." Magnet explained excitedly. I laughed again and grabbed fork.

"Thank you." I had to eat the pancakes without butter or syrup but I wasn't taking this meal for granted. I took a bite of the cakes and smiled.

"These are really good." Magnet and X- Ray high fived as I finished the cakes. They weren't the best in the world but if they were made by my boys then they were delicious. After breakfast we went to stand in line to get our shovels much to the boy's dismay. I told them I wanted to dig with them because it was our bonding time. We got our shovels and started walking when X- Ray came from behind and took my shovel.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize I grabbed yours." X-Ray shook his head and handed me the shovel with the red tape on it.

"You didn't but if you're gonna dig birthday girl, you have to get some special treatment while doing it. Don't go telling anyone though, I gotta rep you know." I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I know." He smirked and gave me a side hug.

~VanillaMeBad~

When I was done with my hole I realized that it was shorter and that made a big difference. I got faster, not as fast as Zero, but fast. When I was done I waited for the last person like I always did. Today it just happened to be X-Ray.

"Almost done?" X looked up at me through his bottle caps and measured his hole.

"Kinda." He started digging again but I jumped down into his hole and stopped him.

"Wha-" I put my hand up to silence him and measured the hole with my shovel for today.

"Well I think that you've dug too much." The small shovel ended about an inch or under the edge of the hole.

"I think you're right." We both jumped out and walked back to camp laughing.

~BaconAndLegs~

"What now?" I asked excitedly after I had showered and came back in the tent. Everyone was in here and they looked at each other before Squid held out a box and an envelope. I took them both and opened the envelope first.

"That's from your parents." Armpit explained as I opened up the small store bought card. All it said was Happy Birthday from Mom and Dad in the originally blank card. For some reason though, it made me laugh.

"They shouldn't have even wasted their time." I laughed again and tossed the card somewhere. I picked up the box next and opened it.

Inside was something beautiful.


	6. Constellations

Inside the cute little black velvet box was a chain with the letter "D" on the end. I smiled and looked up at all of their faces.

"Thank you! I love it so much. I do have to ask though, why 'D'?" I asked as I took out the silver chain. Squid came forward and took the chain from me then stepped behind me to put it around my neck.

"D is for diligence." I laughed as I realized the D was for our tent letter.

"Wow. Thank you guys so much. But, how did you get this?" My eyes involuntarily drifted towards Magnet who put his hands up.

"Hey, we didn't steal it. We asked the warden if we could get you a small token of appreciation and she said no problem. You've really gotten to her. I guess she likes another girl around here." I stood up and held my arms out to them.

"Hug?" They all laughed and came into me. I was smothered in love by my one true family.

~MyCheeseMyRules~

We all sat and talked for a while before it was lights out. When that time finally came around I changed and lay back on my bed.

"Night guys. Thank you again for everything." They all mumbled goodnight and soon they were snoring. I sat in my bed awake thinking about everything that happened today. I never thought that the guys would ever do something that amazingly sweet. I had almost drifted off to sleep when a dark figure appeared above me suddenly.

~FriesMatter~

I almost screamed but then I recognized the white rag on the person's head.

"Squid?" He bent down beside me and grabbed my hand.

"I'm not finished with your presents yet." He whispered. He pulled me out of bed gently taking consideration off my grogginess. I was led outside and my eyes were covered again. We stumbled along for a few minutes until Squid stopped abruptly.

"Ready?" I nodded and his hand moved from over my eyes. Before me, in the middle of four holes, were a red blanket and a five lit candles spread out. I gasped and looked at Squid.

"How did you do this?" He sighed.

"The blanket was in the shed so it's courtesy of Lump. Magnet really did steal the candles and matches for this one." I sighed and put my hands on my hips. Squid copied my movements mockingly but got serious.

"In my defense, I wanted to do this special thing for you." I raised my eyebrows as Squid motioned for me to lie on the blanket. He laid down next to me and sighed.

"I hated school and never paid attention." I looked at him but he kept his head facing the sky. "I had a science class about a year ago with this teacher. Her name was Ms. Catherine and I swear she was my favorite teacher. Anyways, she tried to find something that interested me in Science so she kept me after school and went through tons of types of science until she found one. We found that I liked astronomy. From then on I try to learn as much as possible about it. Basically, I'm about to show you the only things I really learned that interest me, the constellations." I looked up at all the stars. They all looked the same and went on for miles yet Squid could point out shapes and tell me their names, no sweat. There were so many. There was Orion, the Big and Little Dippers, Libra, Taurus, etc. By the time Squid got to all the constellations he knew, I wasn't even looking at the sky anymore. I watched the passion on his face as he told me. It made me want to be a part of that.

"Squid?" He looked over at me in question.

"Yeah?"

"Would you hold my hand?" His hand found mine silently as we both looked back up at the sky.

"Thanks for showing me this." He squeezed my hand at the comment.

"You're welcome. I probably wouldn't show anyone else this. They'd bag on me bad." I chuckled some and sat silently. I felt a pair of eyes on me after a while so I turned to look at Squid. We stared into each other's eyes and slowly moved closer until our lips touched. He was really good at this. I gently moved over him and he pulled me closer by my waist. We kissed for what seemed like forever before we decided it was very late.

All I have to say after that is that this was the best birthday I had had in a long time.


	7. A Pair of Shoes or Something

**I actually updated this chapter earlier today but then took it down because I absolutely hated it. It was stupid and didn't make much since. So, if you read it before I took it down, I'm sorry and you may want to read this chapter. **

"Guys, seriously?" Zig Zag groaned when he saw Squid and I making out, again. Hey, when your main activity is digging holes, you want to spend the rest of your time doing something you like, like kissing your knew boyfriend. I just wrapped my arms around his neck in response.

"You're just jealous that she chose me." Squid pulled away to taunt him.

"God only knows how right you are." He shook his head. "Maybe if I had a girl they would stop following me." He looked around paranoid before exiting the tent. Squid and I looked at each other before cracking up. We had been 'dating' for two weeks and it only took a day for everyone to figure it out. It didn't help that everyone caught us kissing during recreation again. Everyone just congratulated us a and Magnet made sure everyone knew that he was the first to detect our 'secret love affair'. So far so good.

~ScrambledLegs~

I had heard rumors of a new kid coming but I didn't pay much attention to it. We were always hearing rumors. It wasn't until bets started being made that I had to add in my input. I bet on a new kid since we hadn't gotten one in a while. Squid bet against me, probably just to bet against me. And, just like I heard, we got a new boy. We saw that clanking old bus hobble down the road.

"You owe me something babe." I turned to Squid. He leaned down and kissed me in front of everyone gaining cat calls from the group. I smiled and leaned back.

"You're still helping me with my hole tomorrow." I laughed when he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He put an arm around me as we walked. Everyone went to go to the Rec room while I stayed outside and watched for the new kid to step off the bus. When it pulled up, poor boy didn't step off the bus, he tripped off the bus.

"That's never a good sign." I thought out loud. When he stood up I saw that he was a skinny, pale kid with curly brown hair. He looked shy and awkward. Most of all, he looked innocent. The bell rang for us to go back to our tents so I was forced to look away. When I came to the room I saw there was a bed next to mine that was empty and ready to be slept in by a new camper.

"Looks like you got a new puppy to take care of." X-Ray said as he walked in.

"What do you mean?" I didn't understand how this new kid was suddenly my mentee.

"Whoever the new kid sleeps by is the person that is in charge of filling him in." I sighed a little but then thought back to when I was new here. I was scared. The least I could do is help his cause and be nice to him.

We had been in 'quiet time' for about twenty minutes before the new boy walked in with Dr. Pendanski.

"Everyone, this is your new roommate Stanley Yelnats. Stanley, this is Rex, Alan, Ricky, Theodore, Jose, Samantha, and Zero." Stanley looked at me strangely but then looked away. Unfortunately Squid saw that too. He looked back at me with a 'what was that' look and I just shrugged. Dr. Pendanski finally left and Stanley awkwardly stumbled to his bed. When he sat down I reached my hand out for him to shake.

"I'm Sam." He took it and smiled.

"Yeah," X-Ray interrupted, "And I'm X-Ray, not Rex. That's Squid, Zig Zag, Armpit, Magnet, and Zero." He pointed everyone out.

"Um, hi." Some of the guys chuckled and Dr. Pendanski came in and said dinner time. We walked in and got in line. Stanley looked lost as he walked in. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him along.

"Just follow me." The menu was announced over the speaker as we got our food. There was bread, green beans, vegetable soup that was unusually thick, and two slices of white bread. "Sometimes it tastes better than it looks," The chef put a ladle full of soup on each of our plates, "And sometimes you just have to plug your nose and swallow." I led him to our table. Zig Zag called him to sit next to him while I sat between Zero and Squid.

"Hey." I greeted Zero before taking Squid's hand under the table.

"Hey. Look, three o'clock. New guy for E tent too." Zero whispered. I looked over and saw E tent throwing food at the poor guy.

"That sucks."

"Well, since you didn't dig today new boy, I guess you wouldn't mind giving up your bread." X-Ray reached over about to grab the bread.

"You grab that I'm stabbing your hand with this fork." I wagged it at him and he sat down defeated. Everyone just looked at me.

"The bread is the only edible part don't you think?" They nodded.

"She's right." Squid jumped in. "Eat up boy." He looked at Stanley firmly. Stanley just gingerly took the bread and started eating pieces. "So what'd they get you for anyway?"

"I stole a pair of shoes." Awe, he seemed so shy and sort of cute. The boys all talked while I ate the barely edible food. At least it was hot.

"They were Clyde Livingston shoes."

"How'd you even get them? He's like the fastest guy in the major's right?" Magnet asked.

"He donated the shoes to a homeless shelter."

"Wait," I had to interrupt, "You stole donated shoes from a homeless shelter? That's a real dick move."

"Well-" Zero cut him off.

"Did they have red x's on them?" We all looked at Zero. I've talked to him before but he was never loud. Everyone was astonished.

"You got Zero to talk; only Sam can do that." Armpit said what most of us were thinking. Stanley looked at me then Zero.

"Yeah, they did." That's all he said before going back to eating.

"I heard Clyde Livingston hit four triple headers in one game." That got a new conversation going.

~Bananashavings~

Just as I had predicted, Stanley looked like the walking dead when he woke up.

"So are you going to be following him around today?" Squid came up behind me. I turned and gave him a good morning kiss before answering.

"No. I'm just going to let him know he can come to me if has any questions." I was next in line as we got our shovels.

"You're looking good this morning Mr. Sir." He grumbled and handed me a shovel. Squid put his arm around my shoulders as we walked to the site.

-Foghorns-

Stanley was having a hard time digging his hole. It was almost lunch and he was barely dented his hole. I felt bad for him but I didn't know what to do. We all had to endure our first hole. I saw the truck coming towards us so I did a few more shovels out of my hole before jumping out. I saw Stanley try to put his shovel on his shoulders like Magnet did.

"Stanley-" He whipped around but obviously didn't expect for his shovel to whack me in the face like it did. I stumbled back into X-Ray but luckily wasn't hurt too bad.

"Whoa!" X-Ray helped me up. Squid looked to see if I was okay before turning around angrily at Stanley.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shoved him and Stanley stumbled backwards, almost into a hole. I pulled Squid back before he could do anything else.

"It was an accident." He tried to still get at him so I grabbed his face. "Babe, look. Look at me." He did as I said. "I'm fine. It was an accident." I told him sternly then gave him a 'quit it' look. "Let's drop it." We got in line to get our water. I went to the back where Stanley was so I could fill him in on how things worked.

"I'm really sorry." He apologized as I approached him.

"It's alright; I've done worse to myself. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how this works. We get two water refills, one before lunch, and one after and then we get a refill at lunch too." He nodded.

"Okay. What do we eat for lunch?"

"Usually a poor excuse for a sandwich and some peanut butter graham crackers." He laughed a little.

"This is not at all like I would've expected to be like." I shrugged.

"That's Camp Green Lake for you."

~MetalRoses~

I waited for the last digger like usual and it happened to be Stanley.

"Almost done?" I asked him as I sat on the edge. He measured his hole and he had a few more inches to dig.

"Almost there I believe." I looked towards the sky and saw that, though the sun wasn't setting, it would be soon. I jumped down with him and started digging.

"You don't have to." But I wasn't listening to him. I kept digging.

"I want to." We finished in about twenty five minutes. I jumped out then helped him up. We started our walk back to camp in silence.

"You don't belong here do you?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?" He scratched the back of his head nervously again.

"You're innocent. You don't look like you'd steal a pair of donated shoes from homeless people. My question is how'd you get them?" We walked into camp and threw our shovels down.

"They kind of just, fell out of the sky." I was confused but didn't get to continue since Magnet called us to our group session. I let my hair down as we walked in. It had grown to my ribcage now. We took the only seats left which were by Hector.

"Thank you for joining us your highnesses." Dr. Pendanski smartly addressed us. I only smiled.

"You are welcome kind sir. You shall be rewarded in the future." I said in my best French accent. "Ne touchez pas à ma boîte à outils." Everyone laughed as Dr. Pendanski blushed and began with his 'insightful' yet completely rude discussion about how we screwed our lives up so far.

"What did you say?" Stanley asked me in a whisper.

"Don't touch my toolbox. It's all I know in French." We chuckled which earned a stern look from Pendanski.

"We are all in here for a reason. Stanley," He called him out, probably for payback. Stanley came out of daydreaming at the call of his name. "Do you know who brought you here? Who made you come here?" Stanley thought for a second then nodded.

"You do?" Pendanski raised his eyebrows.

"Who Stanley, who brought you here?" Stanley leaned back in his chair and I could just tell he was going to say something smart-alecky.

"My no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather brought me here. It's his entire fault." Everyone was silent and then I couldn't help myself, I started to laugh. That started uproar and we were all holding our sides in laughter.

Stanley had it worse than I did when I first came here. Everybody, except Hector and I, made fun of him. Group wrapped up and we were dismissed bed.

~MassSugarRush~

"Another four A.M wake up call." I mumbled and rolled out of bed.

"Well don't you look gorgeous?" Squid came up to me but I pushed his chest lightly.

"Shut up."

"Hmm, someone's cranky this morning." He observed. I gave him a look.

"I'm like this every morning."

"She is." Magnet added in as he yawned.

"I haven't even brushed my teeth. I look awful."

"No you don't." He shook his head. I was about to leave but saw Stanley still trying to roll out of bed.

"Let's go slow poke." I kicked his leg. He groaned. I laughed and turned to leave.

"Hey Sam," I turned, "You really don't look that bad." He complimented.

"Thanks." I smiled but immediately wiped it off of my face when I realized what just happened. I was not flirting with Stanley.

~BaconandLegs~

We did what we usually did, grab breakfast which today consisted of overly greasy bacon and slightly stale bread, got our shovels and make sure they aren't X-Ray's, then walk all the way to the work cite which is farther than yesterday's. On the bright side, I could've sworn I was toning up from all the walking, digging, and sweating. We worked for about two hours, got a drink and a snack and then went back to work.

"Well look at that." I looked over at Stanley who was brushing something off.

"What?" He lifted up a rock for me to look at. I had to move a little closer to see that it had imprints of fishes on it. He had found a fossil. "Very cool Stanley."

"Do you think I could get a day off for it?" He asked. I shrugged. I honestly didn't know. I had never found anything while digging. Truthfully I never searched.

"I don't know. Here comes Dr. Pendanski now, why don't you ask him?"

Pendanski said it was interesting but no interesting enough to actually get the day off, I was afraid of that.

"I'm sorry." I sincerely comforted him from my hole as he jumped back down in his. X-Ray came over and squatted next to Stanley's hole. He told him to give him anything that he found since he had been there the longest. I guess I could see why that would be fair for X-Ray but everyone digs their whole and everyone deserves their own day off. Plus, out of the whole time I've been here I haven't seen anybody find anything. Not even a fish's fossil. Maybe this time the whole mystery will be solved and we can stop digging holes.

"You alright?" Stanley looked over at me worriedly. I nodded.

"I was just daydreaming about miracles that could happen sometime soon."

~MajicandJazz~

I finished my shower in the warden's cabin and came outside and to the cabin to find Magnet and Squid playing cards and Stanley watching.

"Hey guys." They mumbled except for Stanley.

"Hey." I saw Squid give him a glance than turn to look at me.

"Hey beautiful." He said loud enough for Stanley to hear.

"Awe, thank you." I leaned down and kissed him.

"Come on guys." Magnet acted annoyed. I stuck out my tongue at him then sat and started to play rummy. They were sitting on Magnet's bed and I was sitting on Squid's bed to the left of them while Stanley was sitting on Zero's bed to the right. I looked up from the cards and at Stanley. He really did look innocent. I guess he felt my gaze because he looked up, blushed then looked down again. After a few minutes, I went outside to get some water. I turned the faucet and felt the water with my hand first. It was Luke warm. Why is it that the showers, I've heard, are equivalent to being stabbed with a million icicles, yet the water is Luke warm?

"Hey." I jumped at the sound of X-Ray's voice.

"Hey." He came and stood beside me with his arms crossed. "Is there something you want to ask or say?" I asked him, trying to figure out why he was standing like that.

"Why do you like the new kid so much?" I turned off the faucet and screwed the cap back on my canteen.

"I don't." He nodded.

"You stick up for him; laugh at his jokes, whisper things to him." I rolled my eyes.

"You are looking far too much into this. I'm just being nice. Unlike some people I know Mr. 'Give me your day off or else'." X didn't smile or anything.

"I'm just saying. Squid's a good kid you know." I nodded.

"I know. I'm not going to hurt him." X-Ray nodded.

"I'll take your word for it."

"You know, you guys could lay off of him a bit you know?"

X-Ray shook his head.

"That's how we do things Sam." With that he walked away and back into the night. Well, into the rec room is more like it. I walked back to the tent and saw Stanley being taught to play a game of cards. At least they weren't fighting.

~All That Shiz~

It was a few months since Stanley arrived and people were finally warming up to him. One day he almost got in a fight with Lump but it got broken up. After that, Magnet gave him the name Caveman and Caveman he was. Now, everything was fine.

"You're beautiful." Squid brushed a hair out my face as we sat on the porch of one of the buildings. I blushed like always.

"No I'm not. I'm sort of plain."

"No you're not." He kissed me, "You're gorgeous." I giggled and kissed him again.

"What are we going to do?" I asked him and grabbed his hand. "You've only got a few months left."

"I know." He nodded. "Tell you what, maybe I'll do something and end up back here."

"Don't even joke." I nudged him. "You don't need to get into any more trouble. My parents would have a cow if they knew my boyfriend was a career criminal."

"You're going to tell your parents about us?" He sounded surprised.

"Well yeah. You're important to me." I grabbed his hand. He hugged me to him.

"You're important to me too."

=Caterpillar Legs=

Gather around folks! Come hear the new scandal! Apparently, caveman is teaching Zero how to read and Zero is helping Stanley dig in return. The public will not be happy about this!

I didn't care that Stanley was helping Hector to read. I thought it was good. I didn't even know he _couldn't_ read. It never actually came up. Come to think of it, do we do anything educational at Camp Green Lake? Anyway, I didn't mind it, but Zig Zag, a lot.

Today started off as a normal day, digging holes and such. When lunch came around, that's when things got interesting. Zig Zag stole an extra graham cracker and took it over to Stanley.

"Hey I'll give you a graham cracker if you let me dig your hole." I rolled my eyes. This was unnecessary.

"I'm good." Stanley was obviously the smarter one when it came to picking battles. However, Zig kept egging him on until they were both up and pushing each other. I looked at Pendanski who was just watching. Just when I thought it cooled down, Pendanski jumped in and egged it on again.

"Come on Stanley, hit him." What kind of authority is this? I was just standing by the truck uselessly. Stanley did push Zig Zag then slapped him and then Zig Zag tackled him. They went into a hole but Stanley elbowed Zig Zag and climbed out. I was starting to get worried. Zig Zag gave Stanley a good hard punch in the face causing me to let out a small scream and put my hands over my mouth. Then, out of nowhere, Zero came and jumped on Zig's back and started choking him. I had seen someone put someone in a headlock but he wasn't letting go.

"Guys stop." I urged them. It was a very poor attempt I must admit but it was at least something. Everyone joined in trying to stop them. Armpit went and tried to break them up. Suddenly a shot rang out from Pendanski's gun and he started lecturing him about how he was authority and all that jazz. Squid helped Zig Zag up while Zero helped Stanley up. Pendanski finally wanted to act somewhat responsible and call for the warden.

=baconandlegs=

"What happened?" She seemed pissed.

"Well basically, Zero tried to kill Zig Zag." Pendanski explained like a High School student would. Armpit explained his part in pulling them off of each other. Then X-Ray gave a reasonable answer.

"They just got a little hot is all that happened. You're out in the hot sun all day; your blood starts to boil." The warden sauntered over to Zig Zag.

"Is that what happened Zig Zag?" He nodded and agreed with X-Ray except for the part where he said Stanley did nothing.

"Excuse me? Stanley digs his hole like everyone else." Zig Zag shrugged.

"Sometimes he does but sometimes he lets Zero dig part of his hole." This is one of those times I wish everyone would be quiet, take a couple of deep breaths and forget everything.

"You haven't been digging your holes boy?" Mr. Sir got onto Stanley. Stanley sighed.

"I'm teaching him how to read. He's a smart kid."

"He's smart?" Pendanski snorted. I clenched my fist. My blood was starting to boil now. "Hey Zero, what does C-A-T spell? What does it spell?" Hector just looked at him. "He's so stupid; he doesn't even know he's stupid."

"Okay," The warden but a stop to this madness, "Everyone is digging their own holes from now on and no more reading lessons." Stanley looked confused.

"If the hole's getting dug who cares who's digging it?" In response, Mr. Sir fed him that digging holes builds character crap.

"We know you mean well Stanley but, the mental stress of him trying to learn made his blood boil, not the sun." Pendanski said like it was obvious. I don't think he's a doctor. Then Hector said something that God only knows we have all wanted to say.

"I'm not digging anymore holes." Still, nobody listened to him. Pendanski grabbed a shovel and showed it to Stanley.

"You might as well teach this shovel to read." He handed the shovel to Hector. "Take it; it's all you'll ever be good for. D-I-G, what does that spell?" Hector weighed the shovel in his hand a minute before doing the unthinkable. He slammed the shovel across Pendanski's face causing him to get knocked out.

"Dig!" Then he started running. Stanley was the only one who cheered him on seeing as the rest of us were in shock. Mr. Sir tried to run after him but the Warden told him to just give it up. Before she left she said the one thing that could have surprised me least this whole day.

"I still expect seven holes."

**That was long. I'm already planning my next chapter. Yay!**


	8. FIN

Hector had been gone for only a week when he was already being replaced by a kid named Twitch who was in for joyriding. He was small and jumpy like a yippy dog. Stanley and I seemed to be the only one's actually worried about Hector. Things were getting overwhelming.

I was walking back to camp with Stanley and he had something to tell me.

"I'm going to find Hector one way or another." I nodded.

"Okay." He took a drink out of his water and wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

"There's nothing going on between us right?" He asked. I looked at him.

"No. I'm sorry; did I lead you on or something?" I thought about everything I had done. I was just being nice.

"No, X-ray just told me that you were Squid's girlfriend. I was wondering why since I already know."

"I don't know." I shrugged but really wanted to slap X-ray over the head, which I did as we walked into camp and saw the boys walking towards us. Next I went to Squid, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Squid put his arms around my waist. I broke apart from him and looked around.

"Let's go play some pool." I offered. Magnet smiled.

"Yeah!" We went to the Rec Room and played pool. The next day we went to dig like usual but that's when it happened. Stanley did it. He ran away. He tried to drive Mr. Sir's truck that Twitch hotwired while we were getting our lunch but he crashed it and started running. It was a bad idea, especially with no water. I don't know what he was thinking. He told me he was leaving but he didn't say when.

"He won't make it you know." X-Ray informed us of the worst case scenario. "If he doesn't die from dehydration, he'll die from heat stroke or the lizards will eat him." Magnet shook his head in sorrow.

"That's too bad. I like Caveman." Everyone agreed, even Squid and I. The Warden wasn't too happy about it either. She was in a pissed off mood all the time which made Mr. Sir in a pissed off mood. Not Fun.

~EarthquakeMeasues~

It was a regular day except when we came in today, there was a black lady coming from the office arguing with the Warden.

"I will be back!" She warned the warden before hopping into her car. I looked around confused.

"What's going on?" I asked Magnet since he frequently checked out the files in the office.

"Apparently Zero's supposed to go home. They're trying to say Zero's dead." I gasped a bit in shock. That was horrible. This place needed to shut down. Who makes you dig holes like this? No one, that's who makes you dig holes like this.

"Well I hope they get a law suit on this place and shut it down."

"But technically Zero is dead." Magnet reminded me. I elbowed him.

"He could still be alive. Maybe they'll come back." I hoped so. Squid came in and joined the conversation.

"Yeah, and maybe my mom will stop drinking and my dad will come home."

~Diggingferchiggin~

It had been about a week and they still weren't back. Everyone was saying they were dead for sure. The lady who said she'd come back hadn't come back, the Warden was more ticked than ever, and Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski were walking around with a confused look on their faces. We were all sitting in the Rec Room or the Mess Hall waiting for something to happen. We got to stop digging at noon since the Warden was paranoid about the law coming around. I was sitting on the couch with Squid and Magnet.

"Not once since I've been here have we ever got to stop digging or has the law come around. This is so weird." Squid stated. I nodded.

"I know. What if something exciting happens and I'm here to see it." I smiled excitedly. Squid laughed.

"If we go home I'm going to be so happy." We heard a police siren and people ran to the window.

"It's the fuzz!" I was getting pumped. It was going to be big day, I could feel it.

"Something big is going to happen, I know it."

Thirty more minutes of waiting and Squid couldn't take it. He jumped up.

"I'm getting some water." He walked out in then all of a sudden we heard him yell.

"They're back!" D tent ran outside and saw a shaggy, dirty pair. It was Stanley and Hector. They were back and safe. We tackled them with hugs. I knew something big was going to happen. I looked over and saw the Warden fighting to grab something from the black lady who was here before.

"It's the property of Mr. Yelnats." She turned towards Stanley who had walked over.

"Please, can I see what's inside?" He gave her a know-it-all look.

"Excuse me?" I looked taken aback at the sass and continued to watch. Then, it began to rain. Like, buckets and buckets of rain. Everyone started dancing and jumping around in it. Squid pulled me into the crowd and I was soaked immediately.

"I love you." He whispered in my ear before kissing me. I was being kissed in the rain and getting told that I was loved and by the looks if the police cars, not going to be a delinquent anymore. This was just about the best moment of my life.

And that is how the end of Camp Green Lake came to be. It took a few days to get everyone out of camp plus we had to find out how everyone's sentencing would be figured out.

"I think I'm going to get paroled." Magnet seemed sure of himself. I shrugged.

"I guess I'll get paroled too. Or hopefully they'll realize I'm innocent." Squid wrapped an arm around me.

"Maybe my mom will stop drinking long enough to bail me out." I felt sorry about his situation.

"We're all going back to our own lives." We all looked around. It was sort of like our family was about to break up. We were all put on a bus to be taken to the station to be picked up. We joked with each other on the way. I held Squid's hand the entire time. I never wanted to let go.

~CHICKENBEARDS~

It was summer so it wasn't too hard to change my schedule around to meet up with Squid. My parents didn't notice at first until I came home two hours past my curfew with a hickey. They were furious but I was completely unregretful. As compensation, I invited him to dinner. My parents still didn't like him very much after that but at least they weren't in the dark.

To top it all off, Stanley invited Squid and I to a pool party a couple of months later. At first I wasn't allowed to go and Squid didn't have a ride. But then I explained that these were my only friends, which they were. The kids who I went to school with were a bit on the shallow side for me. My parents talked and my dad said he'd rather me get their safely than decide to sneak out. Convincing them to drive Squid was a whole other story. It took a lot, and I mean the whole nine yards of begging, to get them to agree. My parents weren't as uncomfortable when they saw Stanley's new house. It was huge. It was amazing being able to see D tent sticking together. On the way home, my mom was sleeping and my dad was driving. I leaned my head on Squid's shoulder and interlocked our fingers.

"I'm really happy." I whispered and closed my eyes. For the first time in a long time, I meant it. I was happy.

Fin.


	9. Author's Note

**Author's Note: Just wanted to let everyone know that I have revised this story if you want to check it out.**


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